Turn order cards?

[Infinite Monkey@Work]

I remember seeing some initiative order cards, linked to either from these boards or from the new site. They were 3x5, in a PDF, with spaces for all the info a DM is likely to need during play. There were monster versions as well as player versions, and the cards had tabs on the sides so that you could turn them 90 degrees to indicate a player was delaying or something.

Can anyone remember these and where I can find them?

 

[reveal]

Initiative Cards made by The Game Mechanics. You can download them here:

http://www.thegamemechanics.com/freebies/index.asp

 

[Infinite Monkey@Work]

Excellent, thank you.

 

[Drawmack]

I hadn't seen those before - those are really cool.

 

[reveal]

I use them in my campaign and they come in VERY handy. No more asking the PCs "What's your AC again?" before I kill them.

 

[Ruined]

I used the card method for the first time this past weekend, and I'm a convert. I like the file from Game Mechanics and will give it a whirl.

NCSU Code Monkey had some as well, but not sure if they were the same product or his own design. Need to track him down and find out.

 

[Rel]

Hey, RuinedOne, how's it going?

For what it's worth, I use 3x5 cards for tracking initiative and I wouldn't do it any other way. I checked out the "GameMechanics" cards above and they look pretty spiffy. But I will say that I think it works just as well if you simply use regular old cards. They have the advantage that you don't have to use a printer to run them off beforehand and you can just throw them away.

What I usually do is have "permanent cards" for the PC's and any major NPC's that might be travelling with them. These get updated when the character in question levels. For the bad guys, I just have their stats written in an abbreviated stat block in a notebook beside me and have generic cards that usually say "Bad Guys #1", "Bad Guys #2", etc. When the encounter starts, I'll jot on each Bad Guy card which set of bad guys that card represents (I might have one card for the grunt warrior types, one for the archers and one for the leader for example).

Once the cards get too many scratched out bits of info on them (names of the Bad Guys they represent, damage taken, spell effects, etc.) then I just toss them. Note cards are cheap.

 

[Orryn Emrys]

I really like the Game Mechanics cards. I tried them 'as-is' for a couple of sessions, then made my own. The only big difference turned out to be a space for the character/monster's current initiative roll at the top right. The players keep the cards, then roll intitiative when it's necessary, record it on their card, and hand them to me. That way, I can focus on the bad guys' initiatives while they make the rolls.

And, since we sometimes use tactical maps, each card has a combat counter stuck to it... (plasti-tak is kewl...).

 

[reveal]

I tried using the cards for intiative, but I didn't like having to fill out a card for every creature/person the characters were fighting against. So I just ended up using the PC cards as reference for myself and created a sheet with about 6 columns of the number 1 through 30 in reverse order with a line next to each. I write the name of the combatant next to their number and just read from the top down.

 

[Thaumaturge]

There are also initiative cards at the RPGA website.


Thaumaturge.